We are a family of three, including a teenage boy. As you can imagine, our differing tastes most often pull us in at least two, if not three different directions. So, a big challenge to overcome in all our family vacations is making everyone happy with our choice of activities. Here is our predicament – the lady of the house loves to shop while the gents find it immensely avoidable; the gentlemen love football and cars while the lady hates it. Thankfully, there is a silver lining! All three of us love to stay in central locations near great restaurants and cafes. All three of us are also fairly easy going, and don’t burst our lungs trying to see it all.

Given the challenges, we decided to take the help of Catterfly for a 4 day pit stop at London. We were not first timers with Catterfly, as they had already delivered one of the most amazing, relaxing, seamless Italian vacation for us in Oct 2016. The team understands our family well so we trusted them to tailor make a plan which will please us all and we are now thrilled with that decision.

Everything in the itinerary was taken care of to every last detail, including our wish for free time to just walk around and soak in the sights. Airport transport was timely and welcome after the long journey. The detailed itinerary was provided both over Whatsapp and the Catterfly app, with recommended sightseeing options, perfect for our penchant for spontaneity. To our convenience, tickets for activities were booked, travel modes and recommended routes were shared and all the while, the team was always available on WhatsApp to make minor tweaks to the plan when necessary. The seemingly minor inputs which in truth elevate the holiday to the next level were shared readily, such as good places to have breakfast, which SIM card to take, which travel card is best suited, good places to shop for shoes, pros & cons of hop on hop off tours, etc.

Our stay was booked in a lovely and cozy apartment in the Mayfair area. We were booked in a 1 BHK but got a surprise upgrade to a 2 BHK apartment. The perks of being a Catterflier! Apart from the fact that this apartment was full of amenities including daily housekeeping, the location was on point. Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park, Green Park, Buckingham Palace, etc were all within walking distance. A bustling neighborhood with international embassies, we were a 2 minute walk from Green Park tube with loads of restaurants, cafes and supermarkets. It was perfectly aligned with our needs as it allowed us to discover some fabulous eateries, had bustling nightlife and also allowed us huge, green spaces to just walk around. For the lady of our house, the location allowed a daily pilgrimage to Oxford Street for retail therapy!

Watching the Broadway Lion King show was a tremendous experience, the team ensured that tickets were booked in zones where we got a great view without paying through our noses. The gents did a memorable trip to Force India’s F1 setup at Silverstone. Without the Catterfly team’s inputs we would not have known how to book it. Further given that we are fans of Chelsea Football Club, the team booked a tour of the Stamford Bridge.

It was a perfect, fun trip and the credit goes to the Catterfly team!